The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Books. Big Profits)

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The idea of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is simple: You should only invest in low-cost, no-load, mutual funds that replicate the entire market (index funds) and you should buy-and-hold these funds for as long as you do not need the underlying money (no market timing). It's hard to argue with the eloquent logic of John C. Bogle's latest ode to index funds." ( Bloomberg Terminal, March 8, 2007).

This is a funny little book. It starts out very fun, making a strong case to attach itself to Thomas Paine's Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings, the book that led to the American Revolution. After hearing so many references to John Bogle and his followers, the Bogleheads, I decided I had to read this book. The author, John Bogle, invented the index fund and founded Vanguard.Others have pointed out that Bogle’s approach to investing, while effective, is not particularly innovative or groundbreaking. They argue that many of his ideas were already well-established in the investment community before the publication of the book. Make sure you understand the fees and expenses associated with any investment, and aim to minimize costs wherever possible. While Bogle is a giant in this field, he ends each chapter by deferring to other experts, who echo his views. And diversification is essential. You do not want to have all your eggs in the same basket. If you are invested in the global market, you will not be impacted too much if one market crashes. Diversification is excellent protection against local events. What I did not like

On October 16, 2017 a 2nd updated & revised 10th Anniversary Edition was published. The new edition features updated charts & data up until the year 2016, and a new introductory chapter. Someone at the very start of their career or unsure about how to start saving money might find the information too much. read Bogle's new Little Book of Common Sense Investingand you'll see how easy it is to beat the Alpha Hunters at their own game!" ( MarketWatch, July 2007)The author advises mutual funds over Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). However, the author states that ETFs are an excellent alternative as long-term as long as you do not trade them but buy them and hold them. What I liked also note that avg tenure as a fund manager is 9 years, and tons of funds close when they have a poor performance period...so likelihood of finding a true winner manager AND it she still leading it 30 years later is exceedingly slim. Plus, you’d have to wait about 25 years to know who that is, by which time you’ve already missed out!